Albuquerque touts Route 66 for ultra high-speed broadband

Albuquerque is making a strong pitch to be one of Google's test markets for ultra high-speed broadband, and the Duke City is citing Route 66 in its efforts, according to the New Mexico Business Weekly. Google promises the networks will offer speeds of one gigabit per second, which is 100 times faster than what most … Continue reading Albuquerque touts Route 66 for ultra high-speed broadband

Fire destroys St. Louis riverboat

The Lt. Robert E. Lee riverboat, a fixture as a floating restaurant on the St. Louis riverfront for decades, was destroyed by fire Sunday afternoon, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. First-arriving fire crews found the vessel engulfed in flames. They were delayed by two inoperable hydrants nearby. The blaze sent up a plume of gray-black … Continue reading Fire destroys St. Louis riverboat

Record number of runners at L.A. Marathon

A Kenyan who was running only her second marathon won the women's division overall and earned a $100,000 bonus for being the first to cross the finish line Sunday during the 25th annual L.A. Marathon. The 26.2-mile race charted its course through several alignments of Route 66 and finished at the Mother Road's western endpoint … Continue reading Record number of runners at L.A. Marathon

Honest, it’s the biggest

The gigantic covered wagon in front of the Best Western Lincoln Inn in Lincoln, Ill., that features an equally large figure of Abraham Lincoln in the driver's seat was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records, said Geoff Ladd of the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau on Friday. According to the Lincoln Daily News: Paresh … Continue reading Honest, it’s the biggest

Grocery in Needles will remain open

The endangered Bashas' store, the only remaining grocery still operating in the Route 66 town of Needles, Calif., will remain open for the foreseeable future, reported the Needles Desert Star this week. The Bashas' chain had filed for bankruptcy months ago, and the closure of the Needles location and nine other stores was part of … Continue reading Grocery in Needles will remain open

Notes from the road

A final meeting for public comment will be Monday at 5:30 p.m. at Clinton Middle School in west Tulsa about the Route 66 Master Plan: Red Fork Streetscape Improvements, according to Greater Tulsa Reporter Newspapers. The project area includes Southwest Boulevard between 25th West Avenue and 27th West Avenue. [...] Citizens are welcome to comment … Continue reading Notes from the road

Footage from the past

A few days ago, the C-SPAN network announced it put all of its video archives online, dating back more than 20 years. The archive, which contains more than 160,000 hours of video, will be a boon for muckrakers. But considering that C-SPAN also gave plenty of air time to historians, I thought maybe some Route … Continue reading Footage from the past

Oklahoma City tower named to National Register

The Citizens Bank Tower, on an old alignment of Route 66 in Oklahoma City and very close to another, was named to the National Register of Historic Places, according to an e-mail from the National Park Service. The tower, now known as The Classen luxury apartments building, is at 2200 N. Classen Blvd., an early … Continue reading Oklahoma City tower named to National Register

A visit to the Grants Cafe

The Cibola County Beacon published an interesting feature about the Grants Cafe in Grants, N.M., which has been serving customers along Route 66 since 1949. And get this: The restaurant has had the same cook for more than 50 years, and the owner has been there more than 30. Alice Rose Johnson, a cook for … Continue reading A visit to the Grants Cafe